Rohit Paudel

Rohit Kumar Paudel (born 2 September 2002) is a Nepalese cricketer^[1][2] and the current captain of the Nepal national cricket team.^[3][4] He made his List A debut for Nepal in the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two tournament on 8 February 2018.^[5] He was inspired to play cricket after Nepal played in the ICC T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.^[6][7][8] In January 2019, Kumar became the youngest male cricketer to score an international half-century.^[9] The record was broken in February 2020, by his team-mate Kushal Malla.^[10] He is the all-time highest run scorer for Nepal in the ODI format and the first Nepalese player to score 1,000 runs in ODI cricket. He was named captain of the Nepal cricket team in November 2022.^[11][12]

Rohit Paudel

Personal information
Full name	Rohit Kumar Paudel
Born	(2002-09-02) 2 September 2002 (age 21) Bardaghat, Nawalparasi
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium
Role	Batsman
International information
National side	Nepal
ODI debut (cap 36)	3 August 2018 v Netherlands
Last ODI	12 February 2024 v Canada
T20I debut (cap 25)	31 January 2019 v UAE
Last T20I	5 November 2023 v Oman
Career statistics
Competition ODI T20I LA Matches 57 34 75 Runs scored 1,569 779 1887 Batting average 31.38 29.96 29.48 100s/50s 1/9 0/5 1/10 Top score 126 61 126 Balls bowled 210 41 246 Wickets 6 3 7 Bowling average 20.66 17.33 22.00 5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 Best bowling 4/22 1/2 4/22 Catches/stumpings 14/– 20/– 18/–
Source: Cricinfo, 12 February 2024
Medal record Representing  Nepal Men's Cricket South Asian Games 2019 Kathmandu/Pokhara Team

International career

In July 2018, he was named in Nepal's squad for their One Day International (ODI) series against the Netherlands.^[13] These were Nepal's first ODI matches since gaining ODI status during the 2018 Cricket World Cup Qualifier.^[14] He made his Twenty20 debut for Nepal in the 2018 MCC Tri-Nation Series against the Marylebone Cricket Club on 29 July 2018.^[15]

Rohit Paudel marked his entry into ODI cricket for Nepal during a match against the Netherlands on August 3, 2018.^[16] Remarkably, at the tender age of 15 years and 335 days, he joined the ranks as the fourth-youngest player to debut in an ODI.^[17] During his inaugural ODI appearance, he contributed 6 runs off just 15 balls, showcasing his early potential with a boundary. Batting at the number 6 position, Paudel was caught out during the course of the match.

In August 2018, he was named in Nepal's squad for the 2018 Asia Cup Qualifier tournament.^[18] In the match against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on August 30, 2018, Rohit Paudel contributed 9 runs to Nepal's innings. It was his 2nd ODI match. He faced 14 deliveries during his time at the crease, scoring at a strike rate of 64.28. However, he was dismissed after hitting 2 boundaries, caught by the opposition.

In October 2018, he was the leading run-scorer for Nepal in the 2018 ACC Under-19 Asia Cup, with 161 runs in three matches.^[19]

On 26 January 2019, at the age of 16 years and 146 days on his third ODI match, Paudel became the youngest male cricketer to score an international half-century.^[9] He scored 55 runs from 58 balls in the second ODI against the United Arab Emirates at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai.^[9] on his fourth ODI, the next game, he scored 16 runs off 24 balls.

In January 2019, he was named in Nepal's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for the series against the United Arab Emirates.^[20] He made his T20I debut for Nepal against the United Arab Emirates on 31 January 2019.^[21] In this match, Rohit batted in the 6th position and scored 4 runs off 8 balls. He managed to hit 1 four during his innings and had a strike rate of 50.00. Paudel was eventually dismissed by being caught out.

In April 2019, he was named as the captain of Nepal's squad for the Asia qualification tournament for the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup.^[22] In Nepal's opening match of the tournament, against Singapore, Paudel scored 95 runs from 105 balls.^[23]

In June 2019, he was named in Nepal's squad for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier tournament.^[24][25] He played 5 T20I in the tournament scoring 5,19, DNB, 6*, & 5 runs at an average of 8.75.

Rohit was part of the 2019–20 Oman Pentangular Series played between 5-10 October 2019. He was part of 2 out of 4 t20i matches against Hong Kong & Netherlands respectively scoring 5 runs each.

In November 2019, he was named in Nepal's squad for the 2019 ACC Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Bangladesh.^[26] Later the same month, he was also named in Nepal's squad for the men's cricket tournament at the 2019 South Asian Games hosted by Nepal.^[27] Nepal played 3 T20I matches in the tournament- 1 vs Bhutan and 2 vs Maldives respectively. other matches were list-A matches against the U-23 sides of full nation teams. Rohit scored 6, 10 & 15* runs respectively in 3 T20I.

In September 2020, he was one of eighteen cricketers to be awarded with a central contract by the Cricket Association of Nepal.^[28]

On 25 March 2022, in the first match of a two-match series against Papua New Guinea, Paudel scored his first century in an ODI match with 126 runs.^[29]

In May 2023, under his captaincy, Nepal won the 2023 ACC Men's Premier Cup and qualified to play in the 2023 Asia Cup hosted by Pakistan.^[30]

In September 2023, Rohit was named Captain of the 2023 Asian games in China, debuting his T20I captaincy against Mongolia.^[31]

He was the man of the series in the Canada Tour of Nepal in 2024.^[32][33]

Records and Milestones

ODI

• 6th Youngest debutant- 15y 335d^[34]
• 2nd youngest debutant captain- 20y 73d^[35]

T20I

• Highest partnership for the 3rd wicket- 193 with Kushal Malla against Mongolia at Hangzhou on 27 September 2023^[36]

References

1. "Rohit Paudel". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
2. "Emerging Players to Watch Under 21: Part 2". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
3. "रोहितकुमार बने राष्ट्रिय क्रिकेट टिमका नयाँ कप्तान". Online Khabar. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
4. "Rohit Paudel became the new captain of Nepali cricket team". The Nepal Times. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
5. "2nd match, ICC World Cricket League Division Two at Windhoek, Feb 8 2018". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 8 February 2018.
6. "Journey to the squad: An inspiring tale of Rohit Kumar Poudel". SportsGuff. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
7. "Rohit Paudel: Meet Nepal cricket's fifteen-year-old firefighter – OnlineKhabar". english.onlinekhabar.com. Retrieved 8 June 2018.
8. "उपाधिका लागि आर्मी र एपीएफ भिड्ने". Online Khabar. Retrieved 9 June 2018.
9. "Nepal's Rohit Paudel beats Sachin, Afridi, to become youngest male international half-centurion". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
10. "Nepal batsman Kushal Malla tops Sachin Tendulkar and Shahid Afridi as he breaks record". The National. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
11. "CAN appoints Rohit Paudel as new captain of national cricket team". Republica. 12 November 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
12. "Nepal Cricket Team Records & Stats | ESPNcricinfo.com". Cricinfo. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
13. "Nepal spinner Shakti Gauchan to retire after Netherlands tour". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
14. "Nepal thrash PNG to secure ODI status". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
15. "2nd Match, Nepal tour of England and Netherlands at London, Jul 29 2018". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 29 July 2018.
16. "2nd ODI, Nepal tour of Netherlands at Amstelveen, Aug 3 2018". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
17. "Rohit Kumar Paudel becomes fourth youngest ODI debutant". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 3 August 2018.
18. "Nepal announce squad for Asia Cup Qualifier, fixtures decided". The Himalayan. Retrieved 18 August 2018.
19. "Asian Cricket Council Under-19s Asia Cup, 2018/19 – Nepal Under-19s: Batting and bowling averages". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
20. "Hard work pays off as four youngsters in Nepal squad". Cricketing Nepal. Retrieved 20 January 2019.
21. "1st T20I, Nepal tour of United Arab Emirates at Dubai, Jan 31 2019". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 31 January 2019.
22. "Winner of Asia Qualifier competing to claim 13th ICC U19 World Cup 2020 spot". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
23. "Nepal make a strong start and Kuwait's Meet Bhavsar steals the show". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 12 April 2019.
24. "Nepal's 14-member squad announced for ICC World T20 Asia Finals". Khabarhub. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
25. "Sharad back in the team, Jora, Bhim left out". Cricketing Nepal. Retrieved 30 June 2019.
26. "Final Squad Announced For Emerging Cup, Khadka and Lamichhane Miss Out". dailylivescores. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
27. "Lamichhane to miss SAG". My Republica. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
28. "Nepal: Women to receive inaugural central contracts, all cricketers to be insured". Emerging Cricket. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
29. "Paudel maiden ton in vain as PNG clinch series opener against Nepal". CricBuzz. Retrieved 25 March 2022.
30. Beswick, Daniel (3 May 2023). "Nepal captain looks ahead as Asia Cup dream becomes a reality". International Cricket Council. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
31. "Rohit Paudel Profile - Cricket Player Nepal | Stats, Records, Video". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
32. "Cricket Association of Nepal-CAN - Captain Rohit Paudel with his 87 knock and two wickets drive Nepal to victory in the Nepal Canada Bilateral Series🔥 #weCAN | #WorldCupYear2024 | #NEPvCAN | #HappyDressingRoom | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
33. "NEP v CAN | 2024 Canada tour of Nepal | Live Score, Schedule, News". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
34. "ODI matches | Individual records (captains, players, umpires) | Youngest players". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
35. "ODI matches | Individual records (captains, players, umpires) | Youngest captains". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
36. "T20I matches | Partnership records | Highest partnership for the third wicket". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 6 November 2023.

External links

• Rohit Paudel at ESPNcricinfo